Live Nation’s Appeal in Antitrust Suit Rejected by Supreme Court

The US Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Live Nation in Heckman et al. v. Live Nation, the 2022 class action lawsuit that alleges Ticketmaster holds a monopoly over the ticketing industry.

The appeal:

• Live Nation’s appeal relates to a decision from a California District Court rejecting a motion requesting that the case be sent to arbitration rather than be decided in court.

• Ticketmaster’s terms of service denote that such cases should be decided in arbitration.

• The District Court claimed that if the case were to be decided by a provider of “mass arbitration services,” it would violate CA law.

• In October 2024, a panel of three judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the District Court’s decision.

• The most recent appeal to the Supreme Court was in response to the Ninth Circuit’s decision. Live Nation claims that the Federal Arbitration Act supersedes CA law.

• The Supreme Court upheld the Ninth Circuit’s decision, and the case will now go to trial.